Monday, September 30, 2013

Beautiful books at Kinokuniya. Alas, unreadable. But look what was on the Halloween shelf!

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Today I went to the 'brary and got a bagful of books. Two by Else Minarik that I haven't read, five by Cynthia Rylant, and Lawrence Block's newest for Tom. When I got back into my car, it zoomed straight over to Japantown and parked in front of my favorite bookstore, Kinokuniya.

Purchases: two dreamy books about best friends who ride their bikes through an underground passageway they find in their basement; and in the other book they ride underneath the ocean. I wish I could tell you the titles.

That little striped fuzzy thing holds your lipstick in case you need to reapply it while you're reading.

Saturday, September 28, 2013

Twenty years ago my friend Debbie and I wrote and illustrated a children's book called RAT LOVE. We had no idea what to do with it, so we bought a copy of THE CHILDREN'S WRITER'S & ILLUSTRATOR'S MARKET. We noticed Isabel's name in the book under Random House.We had heard of that company, so we sent her a copy. She wrote us back right away: the nicest rejection letter. Call me crazy, but I was elated. A letter from a real publishing company! Later on (ten years later) Isabel assigned a book to me to illustrate. And after that, five more. Eight book covers, too.

Can you believe I finally met her in person today? Along with Melissa Greenberg, who was my art director?

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

When Tom's Auntie Ev died--well, first I should tell you that Auntie Ev loved pink. Everything in her house was pink. Appliances, tile, toilet, sink, bathtub, cabinets, rugs, dishes, and almost all her clothes. And so at her funeral 4 years ago, all the men wore pink ties.

Tom thought it would be a nice thing to do at his dad's memorial if all the guys simply chose a tie of his dad's to wear. So all the men chose a tie from his dad's stash, wore it that day, and took it home.

Friday, September 20, 2013

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Kelly was raised in a family of 9 siblings by his parents, the late Walmar and Ida Davick in North Dakota. He served in the South Pacific during World War II in the U.S. Navy as a weatherman. After the war, he joined the JC Penney Company where he served as a manager in Scranton, PA, Richmond, VA and Kingsport, TN. He spent 52 loving years married to the late Vivian Thomas Davick followed by 16 wonderful years as the husband of Norma Bacon Davick. He always said he was a very lucky man. His great treasures in life were his family and serving the wonderful community in which he lived.